Some thoughts after watched the TV series "altered carbon "|看科幻美剧《碳变》的感想|月旦评

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I have watched the netflix TV series "altered carbon " recently ,it's based on the novel of same title .
It's a good TV series ,although the plot changed a lot to the original novel .In case you haven't watched this series ,I'll just comment on some of the background setup. So there should be no spoiler .
最近看了一部网飞的科幻剧集《碳变》，是著名的赛博朋克小说改编，小说中文译名叫《副本》，网上可以找到小说的电子版。总得来说还是很好看的，虽然从网上评价来看，后期剧情较小说改动很大。为了不影响大家的观剧体验，我尽量不涉及剧透，主要谈谈对那个人类可以永生的世界的各种设定的感想。

Setup 1 .DHF,stack,sleeve

设定1、DHF、皮质盘、义体

ancient alien fossil 古代外星人化石

Hundreds years later ,human discover the technology of backup and transfer human consciousness in an alien remains . DHF,digitized human consciousness and stack ,the hard drive that stores DHF.The stack can be implanted into human body .Human body with stack planted in is called sleeve. It's the DHF stored in stack decide who the people is .

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几百年后，人类在发掘外星人遗迹的时候，发现了将意识数字化的技术，涉及两个方面：DHF——数字化人类意识，皮质盘——用外星物质制造的类似硬盘的装置，可以把DHF下载进来，并植入人体，被植入的人体称作义体。具有和DHF主人相同的意识和记忆，但不一定相同的外貌，性别，年龄。。。

What is consciousness ,it's hard to define .Even the author can't give an scientific correct setup and resort to extraterrestrial technology .In computer programming ,a function can map inputs to specific outputs ,just like Conditional Reflex ,many researches showed that even more complex human behaviors can be predicted in very high probability .Is a set of these "functions "can form into a person's consciousness ? It's hard to believe that's true .Because a key feature of consciousness is "self awareness ".I think a programmed computer will never to think about "why I'm here ?".The Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum physics maybe give us some clues,a Schrödinger's Cat can be in a superposition that it is dead or alive simultaneously, until a conscious observer look at it .It collapsed into just one state.This may suggests that the consciousness is the basic fabric of our universe just like spacetime .So backup consciousness should be as difficult as manipulating spacetime to create wormhole .Digitization is too simple to be the solution .

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意识是什么，似乎是个很难定义的概念，作者也很难给出一个科学上能够自圆其说的设定，只能求助于外星科技。steemit上的网友很多都是很了解计算机技术的，编程函数能够将某个输入映射成特定的输出，就像人类会作出条件反射一样。即便是更高级的人类行为，新的研究也表明可以以很高的概率进行预测。但如果将这么一大堆“函数”集合起来，就是一个人的意识吗？直觉上很难相信这就是关于意识的全部真相，因为意识的一个关键特征是“自我感知”。计算机程序似乎永远不会去思考自己是什么这样的问题。而量子力学中的哥本哈根解释给了意识一个非常高地位，具备意识的观察者会让物体状态从虚无缥缈的概率波叠加状态坍缩成一个唯一的确定状态。（比如说，一只猫处于概率波叠加状态，那么它可以同时出现在中国和美国两个相距非常遥远的地方，如果这时候一个中国人看到它，那么它就只能在中国了。）按照哥本哈根解释，意识似乎和时空一样是构成我们这个宇宙最基本的元素之一。所以备份意识应该和操控时空制造虫洞一样是人类短期内无法企及的技术，而不会是数字化那么简单。

Setup 2.Everyone is immortal

设定2 人人都可永生的乌托邦

slum on golden gate bridge 金门桥成了贫民窟

In this new world ,human can survive physical death by having their memories and consciousness sleeved into new bodies .Every citizen is implanted with a stack at age of 1 year .So technically,everybody can live forever .Is this a perfect new world that everyone is equal ?Certainly it isn't .The gap between poor and rich is huge .The poor lives on surface,the city is always covered by rainy clouds ,hard to see the sun .People lives a rotten life ,satisfied with virtual sex and bloody wrestling.If their stack was destroy ,they are real dead .The rich live in city above clouds ,always sunny .They are rich enough to make dozens of clones of themselves for them to sleeve into .This can avoid mental damage of sleeving too many times .And their DHF is backuped with perfect safety.Evan the stack was destroyed ,they still can be revived . They are truly immortal .The rich are called Meth ,like they are living gods.And just like the gods in Greek myth ,their lives are even more rotten and corrupted than people lives below.

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由于人的意识被数字化，理论上可以下载到任何一个身体里。如果身体死亡，死者的意识可以传输到另外一个身体里继续生活。而未来的世界的每一个公民，都在一岁的时候植入了皮质盘，所以事实上每个人都可以获得永生。但这不是人人平等的理想社会，贫富差距更加悬殊，底层民众生活在拥挤不堪，终日阴雨绵绵，不见天日的地面上，蝇营狗苟的生活，享受虚拟性爱、真人角斗之类低劣而堕落的娱乐。当他们的身体衰老或者死亡之后，只能购买或者等待政府分配年老体弱的义体，如果他们的皮质盘被破坏，那么就意味着真正的死亡。而富贵阶层被称为玛士，他们的居所位于云层之上，终日艳阳高照，他们的财富足以让他们为自己准备一堆经过基因强化的自体克隆——这样可以避免因为在不同义体间过多地转移造成精神上的分裂。他们可以将自己的DHF万无一失的备份起来，哪怕皮质盘被毁，也能复活回来。玛士实现了真正意义上的永生，等同于现实中的神。但他们的生活一点也不神圣，沉迷于各种堕落扭曲的生活方式。剧中的反派boss就是一个靠经营一堆骇人听闻的灰色产业发家致富的玛士。

This hierarchical society isn't beyond imagination .It's basically the same society we live in now .Hierarchical society is rooted in inequality of resource distribution .But a modern society needs its member to corporate in very high degree .Distribute resource equally often result in inefficient .According to free market theory ,the invisible hands which is the free market system will find its way to distribute resource effectively .This will certainly result in wealth inequity .If this hierarchical society is not established by brutal force ,it should be considered justified .The real problem of the world in this TV series is the meth can do whatever they want ,no rule can confine them .This defies the rule of law ,will lead the world into chaos. In reality ,even in civilized countries ,there are powerful peoples exploit the legal loopholes to benefit themselves .Written code is enforced by human .And human is inherent with many weakness .Maybe the blockchain technology which use machine to execute code can give a better solution to achieve rule of law .We will see .

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这样一个等级分明的社会并没有太超乎想象，基本可以看作真实世界的投影。等级社会是因为资源分配不均而形成的。但是在一个现代社会中，需要社会成员广泛而深入地协作，而将资源平均分配往往是最没有效率的方式。按照市场经济理论，资源的分配这件事应该交由市场这个看不见的手来完成。所以资源分配不均是不可避免的，等级社会的形成也是不可避免的，当然，如果一个等级社会是靠暴力主导资源分配形成的，那么这个等级社会就不具备正义属性。剧中那个光怪陆离的世界中的玛士大部分是经商发家的，并非直接暴力抢夺。但仍然让观众无法接受的原因，我想还是玛士阶层以神明自居，不受任何规则束缚地胡作非为。这其实是对法治的破坏和践踏，法治的破灭最终会让整个世界堕入混乱和无序。但在现实中，哪怕是在法治昌明的文明世界权贵阶层利用资源优势钻法律空子的事例也是层出不穷，毕竟成文的法律需要人来执行。而人性有着很多与生俱来难以克服的弱点。随着区块链技术的发展，这种依靠机器来执行契约的方式被推广之后，能否将人类社会的法治推向新的纪元，让我们拭目以待。

Setup 3.Religions of new world

设定3 新世界的宗教

In a world that technology is so advanced ,the followers of religion is becoming fewer.The only religion mentioned in the TV series is Neo-Catholicism which probably derived from present day Catholicism. It is opposed to the resleeving of individuals into new bodies because it believes this puts the soul at risk of hell.This made its members easy target of murder .because they can't be revived to identify the murderer .And there are some other forms of faith .The killer Liang worship his Meth master ,take her as living god ,complete every assassination with faith.The rebellion "Envoy" opposed to make human immortal .They developed a deadly computer virus to infect DHF. Without backup ,even Meth can only live once .

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这样一个科技高度发达的世界里，宗教的信众已经很少了。剧中涉及到的正统宗教只有一个新天主教，这个宗教起源于现实世界的天主教，教廷坚称人死后灵魂属于上帝，任何传输DHF复活意识的行为都是渎神，灵魂将下地狱。这让新天主教徒更容易成为凶杀的受害者，因为他们无法复活指认凶手。剧中的反派也利用这一点招新天主教徒做皮肉生意再将他们灭口。除此之外还有一些非正式的宗教，比如杀手老梁，他将自己玛士主子奉为神明，将奉命刺杀视为奉行神的旨意。剧中男主角曾经加入过一个反叛组织“星际战士”，这个组织认为永生是不平等的根源，想要通过散布病毒的方式传染所有的DHF数据，让每个人都重新回到只有一次生命的状态。

The inequality is irresistible in human society ,and human are beings with desire ,can't satisfied with inequality .In old time ,religion can use the concept of heaven or after life to comfort people to accept inequality .This made religion the stabilizator of society .As society develop,new religion and new faith will emerge to challenge the old religion ,just like this TV series showed. In
TV series the "Envoy" represent the justice ,the free fighter against tyranny .But I have a different views about them .I think weather to be immortal ,the choice should leave to singles .The rebellion's doing are essentially the same to the radical terrorist who Indiscriminately killing innocent people .According to some comment made by the novel readers ,the TV series didn't follow the novel here .In novel ,the "Envoy" isn't the rebellion force .It's an organization which do dirty work for government .And the rebellion force didn't have such an important status in novel .

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就像上面所说，人类社会的不平等是根深蒂固的，而人又是有进取心的物种，不会满足于不平等的状态，这在法律规则还不完善的社会就会破坏社会的稳定，而宗教通过天堂、来世等观念让人们接受现世的不平等，客观起到了社会的稳定器作用。而且基督教的一神论观点也是法治思想的重要来源。宗教的社会意义还是非常正面的。但随着社会，科学的发展，宗教观点必然受到挑战，会崛起新的宗教和思想，就像剧中表现得那样。剧中对反叛组织“星际战士”这个群体是采取褒扬态度，仿佛他们是反抗暴政的勇士，不过我对他们的思想和行动还是有看法的，我觉得是否永生还是要将选择权交给个体，一个底层个体，活了几百年仍然没有翻身的机会，我想他会放弃的。而反叛组织“星际战士”的所作所为同宗教极端恐怖分子无差别杀伤的做法没有本质上的差别。后来看了一些原著党的评论，发现这是剧本对原著做了很大删改的地方，原著中“星际战士”并不是反叛组织，是为政府干脏活的地下组织，有点类似CIA。而反叛组织也不是原著作者着力表现英雄群体，他们在原著中并没有什么分量。

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These are some of my thoughts about this TV series .If you have watched this series ,please make comment below to share your views .I'm glad to discuss about it .

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以上就是我对这部剧集的一些观感，如果你也观看了这部剧，并且有兴趣分享自己的观点，欢迎留言和我一起讨论。